


We Three Kings

by TextualDeviance



Category: Primeval
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, Triad - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 07:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TextualDeviance/pseuds/TextualDeviance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet Christmas with Becker's parents becomes something far more involved for our trio when an anomaly opens nearby</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Three Kings

"You want to what?" Abby stared at Becker, open-mouthed.

Becker grinned, and pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes with the back of one floury hand. "It'd just be the one night. I haven't spent Christmas with my family in years and they're bugging me to, and, well, they may as well meet you two if I'm going to do that."

Connor started giggling nervously. "Are you sure, love? I mean, do they even know? I mean that you're not straight, that is. Much less about us." He reached for a ball of biscuit dough on the baking pan before Becker gently slapped his hand away.

Becker shrugged. "I don't think they don't know, let me put it that way. When I was in Sandhurst, my dad asked me once whether their hazing rituals were still the same. I was a bit shocked, to be honest, but I said yes. And I guess something about the way I answered might've tipped him off. That, and there's the whole business of getting to 28 without bringing home a proper girlfriend, much less getting married."

"I thought you'd said you dated girls at Eton?" The oven dinged, and Abby turned to pull out the first batch of biscuits.

"I did. But that was . . . formal-type dating. Dances, that sort of thing. Yeah, I did a bit more with a few of them, too, but I was never serious with anyone." Becker slid a new pan into the oven and set the timer. "I've blown my family off the few times they've asked me about when I'm going to settle down and give them an heir."

"But is Christmas really the best time to do this? I mean, shouldn't we sort of, break the news to them gently or something first?" Connor plucked a hot biscuit from the pan and stuffed it in his mouth before anyone else could stop him.

"What, to prevent some sort of dramatic row?" Becker raised an eyebrow.

Connor nodded. "Mmhmmm," he mumbled through his mouthful.

Becker grinned. "There's no such thing as dramatic rows where they're concerned. They might be a bit scandalized by us, but they'd be more horrified at the concept of making a fuss. And they also have a tendency to be fairly laid back—relatively speaking—at Christmas. Get a few glasses of brandy in my dad and he'll start reciting old Benny Hill routines, so there's that." He wiped his hands on a damp towel and leaned back against the edge of the counter, sliding an arm around Abby's waist. "They may be posh and traditional in a lot of ways, but they're not prejudiced. My Uncle Peter—mum's baby brother—is gay, and they're fine with him."

"Yeah," Abby nestled into him. "But this is more than just being gay."

"It is. But really, they already know I'm living with you two and that I was the best man at your wedding. Enough years of this and they'd start getting curious. May as well get it out of the way now." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

Connor looked between them, grinning. He strolled over to join them, brushing biscuit crumbs from his shirt as he wormed his way in between. "All right, then. If you're sure this won't end in tears and a lot of drinking." He slipped an arm around each.

"It'll be fine," Becker promised.

"Then I'm in." Connor kissed each of them. "Besides. I'm dying to see where our dear Becks grew up!"

***

It was late on Christmas Day, and Becker was thoroughly content after a lovely meal of roast beef, Brussels sprouts and mashed parsnips. The extended family had gone back home, his parents had said goodnight and the housekeeper was nearly done tidying up in the kitchen. This left the three of them, plus the dog—Asta, his childhood Bichon who was now old and slow—sat in the drawing room with post-meal brandy and the contents of a trio of large crackers. Nearby, an enormous tree sparkled, and a roaring fire spat and crackled.

"I actually really like your family. Your uncle Peter and his husband are hilarious." Connor, sat next to him on the sofa, stroked fingertips down the back of the hand Becker rested on his thigh. He looked terribly cute, a green paper crown perched on his head at a rakish angle. "And your mum's really sweet."

"She is, yeah." Becker grinned, and threaded his fingers through Connor's. He leaned over and nuzzled against Abby's hair, pushing up her pink crown that was sliding off. She was warm and a little sleepy, and was curled up under his arm on the other side. It felt slightly odd to be so affectionate with them outside of their own flat—much less in his posh childhood home—yet it was also comforting, and he didn't worry in the slightest about any potential repercussions.

To his happy astonishment, his family had actually taken the news of their unusual relationship incredibly well. His dad had been a little confused and uncomfortable at first, requiring a fairly thorough explanation. Once he'd got down how it wasn't cheating, nor a 'hippie commune thing,' he was rather more accepting. His uncles and their young daughter were downright blasé about it. And his mum had been plenty supportive, especially when she heard they were open to the idea of someday giving her a grandchild. "Mum used to be a nervous little thing," Becker explained. "I think she's mellowed a lot in the last several years. I think my dad finally retiring from the military helped. He's not so wound up himself, now, and she's also no longer worried about him being sent off somewhere that might put him in danger."

Abby blinked and looked up at him. "Does she worry about you, still?"

Becker sighed a little. "Yeah. But certainly not as much as she did while I was on active duty. I think she's incredibly happy that I've gone into private security—thinks its safer."

Connor winced. "Probably best to not give her too many details about the job then, hey?"

"Oh, yeah." Becker chuckled wryly.

"Where was it you said we all worked?" Abby nuzzled against him, stretching a little like a particularly languid cat.

"A rare animal sanctuary and research lab." Becker smirked.

"That's not exactly untrue!" Connor giggled. "Though I'm sure you left out the bit about our rare animals having a tendency to be enormous carnivores."

"Indeed." Becker grinned and winked.

Suddenly, the dog leapt up from his place in front of the fire, and began sniffing the air. He tottered over to the big, bay window, and stared out into the cold, slightly foggy night. He whimpered, low in his throat.

"Asta?" Becker called out to him. "Hey, pup. What's got you so excited?" He sat up a little, straining to see out the window—not that his eyes were any better than the dog's. Asta turned back to him, wriggling a little, and issued a small, worried bark.

Abby frowned. "That's a fear response. What's he seeing out there?" She stretched and rubbed her eyes.

"It's probably just a fox or a badger or something. Normally he just ignores them, though." Loathe as he was to dislodge himself, Becker's instincts were now on alert, and he got up, pulling off his paper crown and strolling over to where the dog stared balefully out the window. Connor and Abby, intrigued as well, got up to join him. Suddenly, they discovered what had the dog on alert. About halfway across the vast expanse of frost-sparkled lawn, atop a high hill, a brilliant, shimmering light spun into existence. It was on the small side, but definitely large enough to allow for something dangerous to come through.

"Oh, fuck me." Becker sighed tiredly.

"Great. We don't have any EMDs or locking mechanisms or anything with us, do we?" Connor rubbed his face.

Becker shook his head. "But we're not exactly unarmed. Connor, stay here and keep an eye on this and keep in touch with the ARC. Call out if you see an incursion. Abby, come with me."

"Hey?" She stared at him.

"Military household, yeah?" He nudged her arm. "We've got a bloody arsenal in dad's den."

In a moment's rummage through his father's gun locker, Becker came up with two rather large assault rifles.

"D'you really think this kind of firepower is necessary?" Abby frowned at him. "That anomaly looked awfully small."

Becker set his jaw. "As you may recall, therocephalians aren't exactly large, and they're rather deadly."

"True." Abby grimaced, and loaded the weapon's clip.

After just a moment more to grab Connor, lock Asta safely away in a bedroom and bundle up against the chill night, the three set out into the darkness, guided by the beacon in the east.

By the time they arrived at the anomaly site, things had already gone fairly awry. Roaming around on the dark hillside were a pair of bewildered sheep, and racing after them, breathlessly calling out to them in an ancient language, was an elderly man.

Connor slipped off to contact the ARC, and the other two set about trying to get the poor man and his sheep back through the anomaly. But no sooner had they got them rounded up than a young woman stumbled through, moaning and clutching her arms around herself.

Abby, quickly dashing from where she was wrangling a recalcitrant sheep, barely caught the woman as she fell to the ground. "Oh my god!" Abby cried out. "Becker, Connor, come quickly!"

They raced to her side. To Becker's great horror, the young woman had completely collapsed, and the reason for it was entirely evident: her belly was enormously swollen, and her rough wool robes were soaked through with blood and telltale wetness.

"You've got to be kidding me." Connor gaped, pacing around in a panic. The sheep's owner babbled excitedly at them, gesturing at the woman.

"Yes, yes we know she's having a baby!" Abby snapped. "Please, would you two get him out of here? I need to help her!"

 

It took some doing, but they managed, Becker allowing for a breaking of rules in order to fully escort the man back through the anomaly and get his wayward sheep locked back behind a fence. By the time they got back, Emily and Matt had arrived with a locking mechanism and a well-stocked field medicine kit.

Matt waved at them as they returned. "Hey! Happy bloody Christmas, yeah? Could be worse, though, I spose." Matt grinned, and began setting up the mechanism. "Could be a mammoth giving birth here instead!"

"Oh, don't even start with that," Emily rolled her eyes. She was on the ground by the woman's head, holding her hands and wiping sweat from her face with a damp cloth. Abby was sat between the woman's legs, head under her robes and a few light blankets, and peering around with a bright torch. Becker suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"Oi, Connor. We're probably getting in the way, here."

"Righto!" Connor agreed readily. "Anything we can help with?"

Abby popped up. "I think I have things settled here. I'm not seeing any complications at least." The woman shrieked and convulsed, gripping Emily's hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. Abby babbled soothing words at her; despite the language barrier, the woman seemed to understand.

"You sure we shouldn't get her an ambulance?" Connor fidgeted.

Abby shook her head. "The baby's crowning already, and if they did show up, how would we explain all this?"

Connor wrinkled his nose. "Good point."

Matt spoke up. "Right. All set up here, just need to push the button, and—"

Becker sensed movement behind him and whirled. "Wait!" He called out to Matt, stopping him from locking the anomaly. Two figures appeared: the shepherd leading an anxious man who exclaimed in worry and shock when he saw the young woman on the ground. Falling to his knees, he seized a hand, and began speaking softly to her, his eyes welling up with tears.

Becker shifted. "Must be the dad, yeah?"

"Must be." Matt nodded. "Spose he wouldn't be too understanding at this point if we tried to lock this thing behind him, hey?"

"Yeah . . . not so much, I'm guessing." Becker sighed heavily. Not for the first time, he wished Sarah were around. She might not understand every word of the ancient language the people spoke, but she might be able to get enough of it to communicate with them better than they were managing now. "What timeframe is this thing, anyway?" Becker nodded down to the dating calculator mounted on the device.

Matt tapped a button on it. "It's not getting a strong fix. Looks like maybe two thousand years ago? Something like that."

Connor nodded. "That sounds about right. Tech back there looked Iron Age-ish."

The woman screamed again, and Emily and Abby went into a small frenzy, trying to move aside the fussy father.

"It's here!" Abby exclaimed, wrestling a little bit in her task, and calling out to Emily for more supplies from the med kit. In just a few minutes more, Abby emerged from under the blanket and robes, holding a squirming, messy little creature whose cries were currently echoing through the glen. She quickly wiped away some of the white and pink goo coating its face, and wrapped it up in a clean cloth, handing it over to its mother.

The young woman beamed, cradling her child at her breast and babbling at Emily and Abby. The man, too, smiled hugely, patting each of them on the arm and cheering. The shepherd stood next to Connor, slapping him heartily on the back.

"Ow! Thanks, mate." Connor coughed a little. "Yeah, I'm pretty chuffed, too."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment in the tableau, and Becker felt a warm stirring in his chest. As crazy as this moment was, there was a happy stillness to it, too. He gazed at Abby, who sensed him, and looked up, meeting his eyes. She smiled, and glanced over at Connor as well. "Yeah," Becker murmured under his breath. "Mum's gonna be a gran someday for sure."

After a little while, the assembly managed to bundle up the young woman and her child, helping to carry her back through the anomaly to her own world, leaving her in the safe care of her husband and the kindly shepherd, who parked them in with his sheep for the night. After they were back through, they locked the anomaly—parking the locking mechanism out of sight in a nearby tree—and headed back to the house. Matt and Emily tidied up, had a necessary cup of tea, and headed back home, and finally, the three were alone again.

They were far too exhausted for anything more than a bit of warm groping in the shower before bed, but as they all cuddled up afterward, Abby suddenly perked up. "Wait."

Becker was nearly asleep, post-coital bliss dragging him under, but her tone woke him up. "Hm?" He stroked back her damp hair.

"No. There's no way." She shook her head.

"What?" Connor yawned and raised up on an elbow, staring at her.

"The baby. She was calling him something when I gave him to her. I didn't really think about it until now."

"Oh?"

She laughed giddily. "I might well have gone mad, but I swear she called him Jesu."

_End_


End file.
